Gods and Goofballs: The Blog
All-star games: Worth it?
It's a sad day in sports when neither the 2010 Winter games in Vancouver nor the NBA All-Star game are trending topics on Twitter.
#V-day? What IS Valentine's Day, really?
You don't need to convince me the NBA All-Star game is the least compelling of the pro-sports fashion shows and doesn't deserve our precious Tweets. ...
Performance-enhancing manscaping
What is it with men and hair?
You see it all the time in athletics. Modern-day gladiators leveraging their own manscaping against themselves in hopes it motivates them to play better.
In the NBA this season, all-star point guards Derrick Rose and Deron Williams have done this.
Rose wanted to play more aggressive for the Bulls, so he planned to deny himself a fresh cut until he did. Williams, who rocks the high half of the neck beard for the Jazz, said he wouldn't shave until the team won five straight.
Whaddya'll think of this method as a performance-enhancer? Sure beats steroids.
Ed's note: Join the discussion "Performance-enhancing manscaping" at our Facebook fan page. Follow us on Twitter, too. Or quickly comment here.
Buckner gets into the act
Seems like these days nobody's mistakes are off-limits. Why else would Bill Buckner, who committed one of the colossal errors in sports history, be able to have some harmless fun with an umpire sitting right near him?
Here's an excerpt from Monday's article in The Herald-News:
Bill Buckner could not resist.
Sitting a couple of seats from him was Bill Haller, the longtime, highly respected American League umpire and pride of Lockport.
"So, did all of you watch the playoffs and the World Series this year?" Buckner began.
"Can you believe some of the calls the umpires made? A ball down the left field line that falls a couple of feet fair, and there's an umpire out there that I don't even know why he's needed who calls it foul.
"Then there's a play where there are two runners on third base at the same time. Both of them get off the base and the third baseman tags them both. Naturally, they're both called safe."
Buckner glanced over Haller, who had to laugh.
And so it began, Buckner's talk that climaxed the 61st annual Old Timers Baseball Association of Will County reunion last Thursday at the Holiday Inn in Joliet, Ill.
Editor's note: Let us know your take at Twitter. Or quickly comment here.
Golf after Tiger: Tattoos and trick shots
Dear Tim Finchem:
Golf during the demise of Tiger Woods should not be about raising the next golden-boy guru. Not about re-casting the spotlight onto the heartfelt story of Phil Mickelson, neither onto a
larger-than-life personality like John Daly nor onto a spitfire like Sergio Garcia. The game doesn't need another name, it needs a rules-change makeover, kind of like putting lingerie on females and still calling it football.
Ochocinco: RIP Chris Henry
This may be the most serious 1 minute, 16 seconds of Chad Ochocinco's life. In a video accessible only through the 'Ochocinco' iPhone/iTouch application, the mournful Cincinnati Bengals receiver reflected on the death of teammate Chris Henry.
In a video called RIP Chris Henry, Ochocinco not only tried to share the better side of Henry the human, he also shared the fragile side of perhaps the game's most gregarious and untouchable player - Ochocinco himself.
A close-up video camera shot of Ochocinco captured the following:
I can tell ya, the dude was a good dude, man. Good dude man. Good dude man. Good dude. All I can say is he was trying to turn his life around - he had turned it around. He was really looking forward to getting married and being that father, being there for his kids. He was like my little brother; I had him under my wing.
[Pause]
So - other than that, man, that's it. I dunno. I ask all ya all, please continue to pray for him, his family. Pray for me, man, because once I finish here (with this video, etc.) and it's quiet and there ain't no distractions, you know - I'm by myself - and I got time to think and reflect what's goin on, it's gonna hurt.
Editor's note: Let us know your take at Twitter. Or quickly comment here.
Who said it? (12/14/09)
So, it turns out, somewhere beneath those strippers and hookers and pancake-house waitresses, there is a soul.
(Which big-city columnist wrote this about Tiger Woods)?
Previous Who said it? entries: Morrissey or Mulligan?; Tebow or another Gator?;
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Albert rules Monday Night Football
Shortly after introducing Monday Night Football field reporter Hub Arkush as the brain behind the NFL's "bible" - Pro Football Weekly - Marv Albert continued with more biblically correct football terminology.
As the Green Bay Packers put the finishing touches on the Baltimore Ravens tonight, Albert called more than one play as a catch-and-run. It's used to describe the action resulting in yards gained by a receiver after he makes a catch. It's on par with basketball's catch-and-shoot and baseball's hit-and-run.
But did you know the hit-and-run used to be labeled a run-and-hit?
In a hit-and-run, the base runner takes off for the next base before the pitch is thrown and well before the batter attempts to hit the ball. Somewhere along the way though, the phrase flip-flopped from the original run-and-hit, which would mean something totally different than how it's used today. Or perhaps even that's a misconception.
A related play (to the hit-and-run) is the less formal run and hit, similar to the hit and run. With a fast runner on first base who is capable of stealing, the batter is given the option of hitting, with prior knowledge that the runner will be moving with the pitch. This differs from a straight steal in that the batter is encouraged to swing, instead of being prevented from swinging. (Note: Wikipedia doesn't hyphenate hit and run or run and hit, as you can see in this description. We do. Yay for us).
- "A spec-tacular move, by Michael Jordan!"
- "Yes!"
- "It counts, AND the foul!"
- "From downtown!" (When a player makes a long three point basket)
- "What a shot!"
- "Oh! A facial!" (When a player dunks on another player)
- "[Player] has found the touch." (When a player makes several shots in sequence)
- "[Player] showing his full repertoire of moves."
- "[Player] is on fire!"
- "[Player] goes glass!"
- "[Player] with the circus shot!"
- "[Player] has had the hot hand!"
- "[Player] with the follow!" (When a player grabs an offensive rebound off a missed shot and makes it)
- "[Player] with the step!" (When a player drives past his defender)
- "[Player] putting the move on [player]"
- "[Player] able to hustle it down..."
- "And it's handled by [Player]..."(When a player easily grabs a rebound)
- "A sensational pass by [player]"
- "[Player] is called for steps."' (Referring to a player being called for traveling)
- "[Player], he's been off." (When a player cannot make any shots)
- "And you know he'd like to have that one back."
- "Re-Jected by [player]!"
- "[Team] are showing signs!" (When a team begins a run or comeback)
- "[Team] hearing it from the crowd!" (Can be said positively or negatively)
- "[Team] have won the NBA championship for the [year] season!"
- "A very impressive stat line for [player]."
- "[Coach] apparently not liking what he's seeing..." (When a coach calls a time out to reorganize his team).
- "Certainly not what [coach] had in mind!"
- "Kick-save, and a beauty!" (First used by Fred Cusick)
- "Seven and two tenths seconds...remaining...in the fourth..." (When referring to the time left, Marv always says it this way, instead of saying "seven 'point' two seconds")
- "Time running out, throws up a prayer, it's good!"
- "...and that will do it."
- "[Player] finishing with some flair"
- "Horry for the win..."
- "With authority!" (Referring to a powerful slam dunk)
- "For Cheryl Miller, Reggie Miller, the Czar Mike Fratello, I'm Marv Albert saying so long from [arena name]"
Editor's note: Let us know your take at Twitter. Or quickly comment here. Credit: Wikipedia - for Albert's sayings. Photo credit: PicApp.
